Whooshing sounds in your ear, similar to the wind, can be disconcerting. Whether you hear these noises continuously or from time to time, in one ear or both, or most intensely in certain environments, a thorough hearing test is the best way to determine the root cause.
In some cases, a wind sound in the ear can be easily resolved by treating blockages, infections, and damage to the inner ear. In others, finding the underlying cause of the wind noise is essential to creating a bespoke treatment plan to manage tinnitus and other hearing complaints.
The good news is that while having a wind sound in the ear is fairly common, there are also numerous potential reasons and treatments. Our comprehensive hearing and ear health checks provide a straightforward way to consult with an experienced audiologist and take action.
Takeaway Facts About a Wind Sound in Your Ear
- Any internal noise that nobody else can hear, from a wind sound to ringing, muffling, buzzing or rumbling, is referred to as tinnitus. This is a symptom rather than a standalone condition, and an audiologist specialising in hearing assessments can help determine the reasons for your symptoms.
- Depending on the cause of the wind sound, we might offer a treatment or therapy there and then, such as removing an ear wax blockage quickly and safely using advanced microsuction, or we could begin building a picture of your hearing health to make independent recommendations.
- Regain Hearing offers testing services across our clinics. If we feel a set of hearing devices would be beneficial, fixed-price appointments and added-value services such as lifetime aftercare are standard in all hearing aid purchases.
Understanding the Causes of Whooshing and Wind Sounds in the Ear
Tinnitus noises can be temporary or permanent or fluctuate between environments, depending on the amount of background noise you can hear and whether you are engaged in a conversation, talking on the phone, watching TV, or doing another activity.
Importantly, the exact description of the sound you hear may differ between people and is subject to perceptions, where a rumbling sound can feel similar to a strong breeze or seem more comparable to a flowing river.
There are countless reasons this can happen, but in many people, a wind-like noise is part of their ear’s natural response to safeguard their hearing from damage, potentially where your brain is producing a sensation of a muffled noise to prevent injuries to your inner ear caused by sudden, loud and excessive noises like explosions or concert-level music.
The issue is that untreated and unresolved wind noises could worsen progressively over time. Even if there is an easy solution, not taking action may mean that any underlying causes become more serious and less straightforward to treat.
However, the most common part of the ear involved in wind noise is the muscles inside the inner ear, which contract and expand to control the vibrations of the eardrum. When the eardrum is limited and the vibrations impaired, the dampened sensation of noises reaching the inner ear is often described as rumbling or wind noise.
You might also find that the wind noise is exacerbated when you talk loudly, chew food, cough, or yawn. Tracking the times and places when the wind sound appears louder can be very helpful since this can often give us indications as to the underlying cause.
Other reasons for a wind sound in your ear are less obvious, and a full ear examination is necessary to ensure we can check the middle and inner ear, look for infections and blockages, and advise on the appropriate treatments based on our findings.
Common Reasons You Might Hear a Wind Sound Within Your Ear
We’ve explained some of the elements of the structure and functions of your ears that can contribute to a wind sound. Given the wide range of possible causes, it is difficult to provide an exhaustive list of factors.
However, the below summarises some of the most frequent reasons you might hear a whooshing, rumbling sound that mimics a strong wind or a flowing river.
1. Ear Infections
Infections inside the ear can form for any number of reasons, from viruses and bacteria to side effects of other ailments, illnesses, and conditions. For many, the middle ear fills with fluid that doesn’t drain away from the eardrum in the normal way, creating an ideal environment for an infection to develop.
Redness, inflammation, pain, soreness, a feeling that your ears are full or clogged, and difficulty hearing can accompany the occasional or ongoing wind sounds in one or both ears and are fairly easy to diagnose and treat.
2. Meniere’s Disease
While much rarer, Meniere’s disease is an inner ear disorder that can generate symptoms like congestion or ear fullness, ringing and whooshing in the ear, and dizziness or a lack of balance.
Treatments for Meniere’s disease vary, but they can include lifestyle and nutritional changes, medications, and management strategies to minimise the accumulation of fluid inside the ear, reduce the impact of allergies and inflammation, and boost circulation to the ear.
3. Tinnitus
We’ve mentioned tinnitus, a symptom linked to countless potential underlying causes and conditions, including age-related hearing changes and hearing loss. Tinnitus occurs when a person experiences ringing, buzzing, or wind noises in one or both ears.
Part of the reason tinnitus is tricky to treat effectively is that it affects everybody differently and can be activated by so many causes. However, our groundbreaking bespoke tinnitus therapies, accompanied by symptom tracking and noise therapies, have proven results and can offer relief from tinnitus symptoms in as little as one session.
Step one is to identify the primary reason for tinnitus, from side effects to medications to damage and injuries to the ear, infections, ear wax blockages, and problems with the sinuses that are contributing to the whooshing noises.
Rhythmic Wind Noises and Pulsatile Tinnitus
Pulsatile tinnitus is another type of tinnitus that is linked with rhythmic inner ear noises that form a pattern. This is described as throbbing, thumping, or whooshing, and for some people, it appears to be like hearing their own heartbeat within their ears.
An audiologist can treat most cases of pulsatile tinnitus. However, we might suggest scheduling a medical check-up if there is a potential that an underlying and undiagnosed condition, like issues with your blood flow or blood pressure, has caused this.
How to Get Rid of a Wind Sound in the Ear
All of the above issues or concerns could be contributing factors that are either directly responsible for the wind noises you hear, exacerbating the symptoms, or making it harder for your ears and hearing to return to normal.
We always recommend a comprehensive hearing and ear health evaluation before suggesting any treatment, therapy or medical intervention since the wrong approach may have little or no impact on your symptoms whatsoever while doing nothing to prevent the wind noises from worsening.
Many clients find that the wind noises are linked to something else, like an ear infection. Removing ear wax blockages, suggesting ear drops or antibiotics, and pain relief or anti-inflammatories to relieve the severity of the inflammation and soreness work well.
For others, lifestyle changes and alternative approaches like self-management may enable you to deal with the wind noises without them being intrusive, alongside white noise machines to aid in sleep and tinnitus therapies. These reduce the prevalence of the wind sounds until they are barely distinguishable.
What to Do to Manage a Wind Sound in One or Both Ears
Our ear and hearing testing services provide a fast, efficient, and professional way to identify why you are hearing wind sounds in your ears. This could be due to any of the above causes or might be related to something very different.
Each appointment has a two-hour time slot, which gives us ample time to chat about your symptoms and the exact nature of the wind noises you can hear, discuss your medical history and any previous instances of hearing loss, and talk through when and where the wind sounds are louder, harder to ignore, or more disruptive.
This depth of information informs the testing procedures we suggest, normally beginning with a gentle video otoscopy, where we use a tiny, advanced camera to get a real-time look inside your ear to see any signs of infection, damage, blockages, or other issues.
From there, testing for pressure imbalances, recording the tone and frequency of the unwanted wind noise, and using cutting-edge hearing evaluations provide a great steer on the right way to tackle the problem, from hearing aids to tinnitus therapies.
If you’d like more information about how to identify the reason for a wind sound in your ear and take decisive action to resolve the issue for good, you are welcome to contact your nearest Regain Hearing clinic at any time to schedule your private hearing test.